Sikkim CM heads delegation seeking tribal status in Delhi

Led by Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay, a delegation with representatives from 12 communities of Sikkim has left for Delhi to demand tribal status from the government.
Prior to their Delhi visit, representatives from 12 communities under the joint banner of Eleven Indigenous Communities of Sikkim held an awareness programme on tribal status of 12 ethnic communities in Gangtok on December 3. All 12 left out communities led by their presidents and their apex organization EICOS held deliberation on the various issues concerning their respective communities. EICOS Convener Raju Basnet speaking with the media shared, “The resolution adopted today states, that the rights and interests of all these communities have to be restored as it was guaranteed in the May 8 1973 Agreement and Article 371F of the Indian Constitution. With the submission of the ethnographic report, backed by Article 371F, we are hopeful that the resolution will be brought to the parliament in this winter session and declare us tribal.”A resolution has been adopted by the 12 communities which state, “all the communities of Sikkim were enjoying equal status as per seat reservation, job reservation, and all other socio-economic benefits that approved to a tribal of Indian context during the erstwhile Chogyal regime.